"...James Wigderson takes on local and state issues with intelligence and humor. Even those who disagree with Wigderson respect his thoughtfulness and grasp of political matters." Waukesha Freeman "Community members and columnists help make award-winning Opinion Page" February 5, 2009

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Monday, March 30, 2009

President Barack Obama decided this weekend to fire the CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, and is about to change the board of directors. How can this be, you might ask? After all, General Motors is a publicly held company, not an arm of the United States government.

Silly me. I made the same mistake, too. But since President Obama and the Treasury Department have basically taken over the industries “too big to fail,” Obama was able to ask for and receive Wagoner’s resignation without too much fuss.

With Obama’s announcement today that we “must not, cannot, and will not” let the auto industry fail, Obama Motors becomes the latest acquisition of Obama Holdings, LLC., which will soon branch beyond finance and auto manufacturing to real estate and health care.

Fortunately, Obama has found a way to sink even more money into the money pit by promising to honor the warranties on any new car should Obama Motors fail. I think the only way he could make the situation worse would be to hand over the warranty service to the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department to make sure everyone is serviced in a racially equitable manner. “I’m sorry Mr. Wigderson, but your car is going to have to wait while until we service a sufficient quota of minority-owned vehicles.”

You’ll forgive me if I feel less a tingle going up my leg than a shiver going down my spine. This coup d'état resembles a corporate version of the Kennedys’ 1963 ouster of Diem in Vietnam, with results equally as disastrous.